Perhaps it's because at least a quarter of American adults still haven't used at least one of their gift cards from last holiday season, and more than half already have multiple cards in the back of their dresser drawer that are gathering dust.

When Consumer Reports asked why, 37 percent said they hadn't found anything they'd wanted to buy, 36 percent didn't have time to go shopping, and 34 percent had forgotten about the card(s).

"Gift cards are something of a double-edged sword," says Consumer Reports' retail expert Tod Marks. "People love them, but often the cards end up collecting dust in a drawer. Our study also shows that two-thirds of people who get a card end up spending more than the card’s face value, so in effect they’re paying for their own present."

In another sign those gift cards might not be worth it, a study cited by Time's Moneyland found that people using gift cards were 2.5 times more likely to pay full price for a product compared to shoppers making the same purchase with plain old cash.